Shock absorber



F. J. LAHER sHocx ABsoRBEn 'Jnl0, 1928.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ffl , Original Filed April 28. 1926 Jafn. 15o, 192s. 1,655,552 y F. J. LAHER SHOCK ABSORBER Original Filed April 28 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet ,l l' HI i fl un ummm 5 lliw Patented aan. 1o, 1928.

vUNITEDY STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK .Tf LAIIIER,v F OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

sHooK ABsoRBER.

sealing of appneauon serial 110.105,266, mea Aprn 28, was..` This'appication ined may 31, 1927. Serial No. 195,508.

- As Well lrnown, the automobile is relieved of minor liolts While traveling, due t0 inequalities inthe road surfaces, by means of the vehicle springs. But When one of the Wheels strikes an abrupt rise or depression in the road surface, and the body of the auto is forced down suddenly its springs are flattened out more or less. In consequence the springs rebound, and throvr devices tend to impose the least resistance when the force of the rebound is greatest, as when the leaves ofthe spring areflattened out by said sudden `iolts, and on the other hand tend to imposetheir greatest resistance at the instant when the reeX force of the spring is diminished. n I

The object of this invention is to provide a device that will act quickly, just at the moment when the body of the vehicle due to said sudden jolt'tends to frise abruptly; at which instant an efficient shock absorber should vimpose its greatest resistance for a moment so as to arrest therebound of the vehicle spring, andy then should permit the vehicle spring to function as usual.

In other Words, my invention has for its principal object the providing'of a shock absorber adapted to cushion any of said sudden, violent jolts of the vehicle by `restraining in an effective manner the violent re bound of the load-carrying springs, at the same time permitting the lesser oscillations of these springs in the same degree as permitted by the ordinary type of shock absorber.

I attain my object in a shock absorber` comprising a bracket or mounting provided with a stationaryfriction surface, a spring controlled drum provided with a companion friction surface; said friction surfaces arranged for engagement but` normally Adisengaged; a strap is fastened to and Winding on said drumthe free Vend of said strap adapted to be fastened to the aXle of a vehicle; kthe bearing of said drum being inclined tov-aards ,said stationary friction ysurface; preferably' said Vdrum has a conicalV by a sudden pull on the strap brings the said friction surfaces into engagement and the reflex of the spring controlling the drum Will effect their disengagement as the pull oni the strap is released.

The' most practical means in myy Opinion by which to cause the lateralmovement of the drum on its spindle, consists in providing the spindle with a conical part, and providi'ng the drum With al conical eye1corresponding with and slidably mounted on said conical part of the spindle.- lVith such construction, the greater the abrupt pull on the said strap, ofthe shock absorber, the greater will bethc tendency to force the drum into effective engagement With said friction surface, whereby the drum. Will be firmly held against sudden reverse rotation, and any sudden reflex action or rebound of the vehicle will be effectively restrained; atv the same time the shock absorber Will not interfere kwith the normal functions of the spring.

VThe detailsKL of construction preferred by me, and the mode of .operation of` my invention isdescribed hereinafter With reference to the accompanying drawings. i c

Fic'. l showsy a fragment of the chassisframe of an automobile anda fragment of one of its axles, and'shows thev attachment of my shock absorber as in practice. My de vice being'shown in this the line l-l-l of 2;

Fig. Qshows similar parts of an automobile asfmentioned With respect to Fig. 1,

and shows a section of kmy shock absorberV taken approximately on central vertical line of Fig. l; y Y

Figs. 3 and 4 showpossible modifications of my invention; namely-in Figs. 1 and 3, the drum is shown as slidably mounted on a non-rotatable conical piece, While in Figs. 3 anda this conical piece is free to rotate;

`Fig. 5 shows a section similar to Fig. 2 and illustrates a modification inthe application of my invention; as here shown, the opposed co-operating friction surfaces are arranged in the` form of a cone instead of flat surfaces asshoWn in FigQQ; and

Fig. 6 shows a similar modification of my inventionas shown by Fig. 5, thep'section being taken on the line 6-6 of "5'.

Further kdescribing now the details ofmy lfigure in section on e lun invention a, represents a section of the chassis-frame of an automobile, and o a section of one of the axles. My shock absorber consists of a plate c provided with a perpendicrr lar spindlemZ and with an annular brakelining or friction-surface e.

Referring non' first to the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2; The spindle CZ is square in cross-section. 0n it is slidably mounted a cone f axially adjustalile by set screws g, supported in a. plate Z1., firmly se'- cured to the spindle CZ by al stud scr-enY fi.

The opposite face of the plate c is provided by an integral stud-screwv ou which is mounted a nut and a lock-Washer as shown at 7c.

` On the cone f is mounted-a drum Z, provided with ay conical eye corresponding With and slidably mounted on the cone f.

.In the drum Zis threaded a bolt m to which one end of the spiral spring n is fastened, and in the plate c is threaded another bolt 0 lo which the other end of the spiral spring n. is fastened.

On the circumference of the drum Z is fastened, and Winds, one end of a strap p, the other end of the strap being fastened in any convenient Way to the vehicle axle b.

The strap j) is normally maintained in tension by the spiral spring n cont-rolling the drum Z.

In the hub of the drum Z are slidably inserted pins y bearing on the springs, and thus theside of the drum Z adjacent and opposed to the friction surface c is normally spaced from the latter. However no appreciable spacing apart is required; it is merely necessary that said friction surfaces be normally out of engagement. My shock ab# sorber is enclosed by the housing 2. My device operates as follows:

In ease the vehicle is driven over a rough road, and is Iiolted to such an extent as to force the body down on the axle, the rebound or reflex action'of the spring Will tend to throw the body forcibly from the axle, with much undesirable bouncing, as pointed ont in the introduction of this specilication.

In the jolt bringing the vehicle body and its axle closer together, the strap p will be -orrespondingly wound up on the drum Z, and the pull on the strap y) Will, when the vehicle body and spring move apart again, tend to rotate the drum reversely. Prior to my improvement such reverse rotation of the drum was resisted only by a spring as n, which Was found, in practice to be Wholly insntlicient. By my improvement the sudden pull exerted on the strap p by Said rebound Will pull the drum Z down on the cone in so doing bringing its side against the friction surface e, thereby arresting the reverse rotation of the drum for the moment, and neutralizing the shock of the said rebound. And when the sudden pull of the strap is diminished, the drum will again be moved from said friction surface by the spring-seated pins Q', the latter being of suflicient strength to perform that function under the normal tension of the strap p. Hence, ordinary vibrations of the vehicle body on the vehicle springs would not cause the incidental pull of the strap p to engage said drum With the friction surface c. when engaged `with the latter if the pull on the strap 79 is diminished, the drum will be gradually disengaged from the friction surface.

The modilications shown in Figs. 3 and t have the followingfeatures:

The spindle {Z is cylindrical ard the cone f is free to rotate on the spindle, the drum Z is mounted on the conc as usual and is held from the plate c (which is provided with friction surfaces c as shown in Fig. 2) by means of springs s bearing against a ring r, the latter details, however, being variable to suit the preference of the manufacturer.

ln other respects the construction shown by Figs. 3 and L is similar to that shown in 1 and 2.

'eferring now to Figs. 5 and G in this einbodiinent of my invention, the friction surfaces are arranged in the form of a conc. rihat is to say the friction surface 3 provided on the face of the plate c is so constructed as to bear against the face 7 of the drum l in the relation of a cone and conical eye. It may be thought by some users of my invention that the construction thereof last described aifordsrmore effective resistance to the drum as it is rotated atthe moment of shock. The compression coil spring 5 is arranged to bear against and release the pressure of the drum il against the friction snrfacel, and is held loosely in place by the circular groove 6 in the drum 4.

I claim:

l. ln a shock absorber for vehicle comprising a mounting snl'iporting a spring-controlled rotatable drinn, and a strap fastened to and winding on the circumfercl'ufc of said drum, a friction surface provided on said mounting adjacent` the drum, a coinpanion friction surface provided on the drum, said friction surfaces being normally spaced apart, means adapted to cause a sudden pull on said strap to bring' said friction surfaces into engagement for the moment, and means tending normally to space said friction surfaces from each other.

2. In a shocl: absorber for vehicle compris ing a mounting supporting a spring controlled rotatable drum, and a strap fastened to and Winding` on the circumference of said drum, a friet-ion surface provided on said mounting adjacent the drum, a companion friction surface provided on the drum, said And Vl Il) friction surfaces being normally spaced apart, means adapted to cause a sudden pull on said strap to move said drum into engagement with the first mentioned' friction surface for the moment, and means tending normally to move Athe drum from said'friction surface. I

3. A shock absorber, comprising a support adapted for being vertically mounted on the chassis-frame of a vehicle, said support iiicluding a vertically disposed part provided with a perpendicular spindle and a. friction surface,` a spring-controlled drum journaled on said spindle and provided with 'acont panion friction surface, said friction surfaces being normally out of engagement, a-strap having one end fastened to and Wound on the circumference of said drum, and having its other end adapted for being fastened to an axle of the vehicle, and means adapted tocause a downward and oblique movement of the drinn on itsspindle in response to a sudden pull on said strap, thereby to bring said friction surfaces into engagement.

4. A shock absorber, comprising a support adapted for being vertically mounted on the chassis-frame of a vehicle said support including a vertically disposed part provided with a perpendicular spindle and a 'friction surface, a spring-controlled drum journaled on said spindle and provided with a companion friction surface, a strap having one end fastened to and Wound on the circumference of said drum, and khaving its other end adapted for being fastened to an axle of the vehicle means adapted to cause a movementof the drum on its spindle in response to a sudden pull on said strap, thereby to bring said friction surfaces into engagement, and means tending normally to space said drum from the, friction surface of said plate.

5. A shock absorber, comprising-a support adapted for being vertically mounted on the chassis-frame of a vehicle, said support including a vertically disposed part provided with a perpendicular spindle and a friction surface, a spring-controlled drum journaled on said spindle and provided with a companion friction surface, a strap having one end fastened to and wound on the circumferenceof said drum. and having its other end adapted for being fastened to an axle of the vehicle means adapted to cause a downward and oblique movement ofthe drum on its spindle in response to a sudden pull onsaid strap, thereby to bring said friction surfaces into engagement, and means tending normally to space said drum from the friction surface of said plate. n

G. A shock absorber, comprising a support adapted for being vertically mounted on the chassis-frame of a vehicle said support including a. vertically disposed part providved with a perpendicular spindle `Vand a friction surface, a spring-controlled drinn journaled onsaid spindle and provided With a companion friction surface, a. strap having one endk fastened to and Wound on the eireninfcrence of said drum, and having its other end adapted for being fastened to an axle ofthe vehicle the spindle providcd'witli a conical peripheral pait pointed toward the first mentioned friction surface, `the drum provided with a conical eye corresponding with, and slidably mounted on said conical part, and means tending normally to space said drum from the friction surface of said end adapted for being fastened to an axle of the vehicle a cone Vmounted on said spindle. and pointed towards said first mentioned friction surface; means for adjusting the Vcone axially on the-spindle, the drum being providedwith a conical eye corresponding with, and slidably mounted oni said cone, and means tending normally to space said drum from the friction surface of said plate.

8. In ya shock absorber for a vehicle comprising a mounting supporting a spring-con I trolled rotatable drum, and a strap fastened to and Winding on the circumference of said drum, a friction surface provided on said mounting adjacent the drum, a friction surface provided on the drum, said friction surfaces being normally disengaged and means functioning to bringsaid friction sur` faces into engagement when a sudden pull is exerted onsaid strap, and to separate said friction surfaces again when said pull is released.

9. Inr a. shock absorber, a stationary friction surface, aspriiigcontrolled drain provided Witli a companion friction surface, said friction surfaces being arranged for engagement but normally disengaged, a strap fastened to and Winding on said drum, said drum having a conical bearing with the vertex of the cone adjacent said stationary friction surface, whereby a pull on the strap causes the friction surfaces to be broughtinto engagement and the reflex of the spring controlling the drum Will effect their disengagement-as thepull on the strap is released.

FRANK J.4 LAHER.

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